Give me your tired, your poor,....

Give me your tired, your poor...

Let's do politics a little this morning. If you keep up with the news any, you know of the 'issues' with 'illegal aliens'. No, I am not talking about bandits from Mars, but any non-citizen of the United States who just 'happen' to cross our borders and set up some sort of residence, without permission. I find it very interesting, with a country supposedly based up the love of God, acts the way it does. I realize the issues with taxes, benefits, jobs and other facets about an influx of peoples from outside our country. I realize that jobs can be scarce, medical benefits can be spread too thin and the dangers of drugs brought in from outside our country and sold to our kids. I realize all that, yet sometimes I just think that our hearts have become hardened over time, much like the Pharoah of Egypt.

Today, I think we, as a country, have forgotten this commitment our forefathers gave to the rest of the world. Today, we have fences, walls and rivers, teeming with armed men and women to "keep out the tired, the poor, the wretched, the homeless, etc". What have we really become as a country? Instead of spending dollars and efforts to allow these 'foreigners' to live among us who who born in this 'great'? land, we spend billions every year to keep them out. And besides, the principles suggested in the words on the Statue of Liberty, are based upon Biblical ideas, values and commands.

In my study this morning, I looked at what it meant to be a foreigner. One of the words I found which is translated as "to dwell in a land as a client', was the Hebrew word, gûr. The first time this word was used in the Bible was in Genesis 12:10, where Abram (later to be called Abraham) went to Egypt and dwelt there as a client. Then I looked at the Hebrew noun, gēr, which translated as 'client', or 'stranger'. This gēr, or client, was not simply a passing stranger in a country, but rather a person who came from another land and settled into residence in a new country. Moses did this when he moved to Midian. He became a settler, or client in this new land. He, nor any other 'client' were allowed to own land, as only those descendants of the original tribal leaders were allowed to do that. Clients were not considered to be full citizens, only residents. However, they were entitled to what was known as the 'third tithe'. Every three years the tithe of the harvest would be distributed to the Levites (who could not own land either, as you recall), strangers (clients), widows and others. See Deuteronomy 14:29. Later, however, if you read Ezekiel 47:22, you will see that eventually clients became full citizens and would have the authority to inherit land. But, even until they became full citizens, these temporary residents, or clients, were protected by God's laws. Read both Deuteronomy 1:16 and Leviticus 18:26. The gēr could even be circumsized; that is how welcome they became. See Exodus 12:48.

I say all this to say this. WE, residents and citizens of a country supposedly based upon the values, decrees and commands of God, are forgetting our first love (check out the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2). God protected His people by setting up laws back then which extended His immediate family of Israelites to those who travelled and settled in the land of His people. We are not loving the widows, the poor, the huddled masses when we support the laws of this country when they apply to 'KEEPING OUT' foreigners. God and His people thousands of years ago, WELCOMED the gēr. Today, we spurn them. Get angry because 'they' are taking our jobs. Get concerned because these 'clients' are garnering some of the benefits we consider to be rightfully ours. How conceited and naive we are. How unbiblical as well. How unlike Christ. Borders meant nothing to Him, but they do to us.

I sincerely doubt the nation's laws will change much in the aspect of allowing 'the dredges of other societies' migrate to this land (but if you have MONEY, no problem...come on in). Even though the authors of our declaration had in mind a 'free' country open to all; and even though a great big welcome sign is visible to all who visit through the area of Ellis and Liberty Islands which proclaims to want the poor, the laws probably won't change.